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A new study suggests that avoiding smoking, high-blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes may delay the odds of developing dementia by about 13 years.
Over 12,400 people who were dementia-free when they were 55 years old were monitored for an average of 26 years for Neurology Open Access’ study, being assessed for high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking.
As the study progressed, 3,008 people developed dementia and 5,238 people died without developing dementia.
Those who had none of the three risk factors lived without developing dementia nearly 13 years longer compared to those who had all three. From age 55, they also had an average of just over 30 more years free of dementia.
For those with one risk factor had an extra 26.3 years, those with two had 21 years, and those with three had just over 17 years.
Participants who had those three health hazards when they were, on average, about 56 years old were more than twice as likely to develop dementia and more than five times as likely to die prematurely from another cause.
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“These findings indicate that total cardiovascular burden, rather than isolated risk factors, is a key determinant of dementia-free survival,” the study says.
“These factors often emerge in midlife and exert lasting effects on neurodegenerative pathology, underscoring the critical importance of early identification and management.”
Women were also found to have lived longer without dementia than men by a year and a half, and white people having more dementia-free years than Black people by just over three and a half years.
The study notes that “vascular risk factors – including diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure) and smoking – are well-established contributors to dementia risk.”
Two major studies published in JAMA Neurology on April 7 2025 found that GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy, commonly used for Type 2 diabetes and weight loss, are linked to a lower risk of cognitive decline in people with Type 2 diabetes.
One study found that GLP-1 drugs were associated with a 33 per cent reduction in the risk of dementia, while another class of diabetes medications, SGLT2 inhibitors, demonstrated an even greater benefit, cutting the risk by 43 per cent. Another found that both GLP-1RAs and SGLT2i were linked to a lower risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia compared to other treatments.
In addition, a Sept. 23, 2025 BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine study found that “any amount of alcohol consumption can lead to an increased risk of dementia,” stating that increasing the amount of alcohol consumption by three times can lead to a 15 per cent higher risk of developing dementia.
Health Canada approved lecanemab, commercially known as “Leqembi” on Oct. 29 2025, which is meant for adults who have a clinical diagnosis of mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease.
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